Winds of Promise: Three Years Since
by Legion117
Summary: It's Annie's Birthday (3/22) and Josh doesn't know what to do since they are all stuck at the Cadet camp. Christa steps in with a plan to help him out. Rated M for language and some adult humor. (Bonus story I wrote for my Winds of Promise Fanfic. If you have not read up to Winds of Promise Chap. 6 before reading this, I suggest that you do so. As always Feedback is Appreciated)
1. Chapter 1: Logistical Issues

March 21, 850…Four months before the Battle of Trost

Cadet Training Camp, interior of Wall Rose

A soft wind blew through the branches of the trees. The sunshine of early afternoon shone down across the valley, casting its' warmth on everything it touched. Beneath the shade of a pine tree, Cadet Josh Kassmeyer reclined and watched the clouds roll by off in the distance. There hadn't been anything on the agenda for the day after the end of morning studies, so he was taking full advantage of the free time. This wasn't the kind of opportunity that any of them got very often. Even if there was nothing scheduled, Commandant Shadis almost always made something up for them to do.

Thankfully things seemed rather peaceful today; which stood in stark contrast to the cadets' purpose at the academy. It was hard to imagine that graduation was more or less right around the corner. Three years of training had seemed like such a long time when everything had started, but now it felt like they'd just begun yesterday. A lot of changes and challenges had faced them all in the time that they'd been here. According to Jansen, this was just the tip of the soldiering iceberg. It was weird how enthusiastic he remained about all of this, even during the instances when there was nothing to do but stand around and wait for Shadis to write up a new training exercise. He'd been a lot more upbeat and gung-ho about things lately, probably because they were approaching the final term of classes before shipping off to the regiments of their choosing.

Josh wasn't looking forward to that day as much as his erstwhile friend was. Even though it meant they'd finally be full-fledged soldiers, it also meant that everyone would be going their separate ways to wherever they were going to be stationed. For all he knew, their entire squad would be scattered to the four corners of the walls. Plus, if things kept up like they had been, Annie was going to make it into the MPs without a doubt, just like she'd always planned. The likelihood that she'd be placed in the interior was rather high. He may not see her for a long time if that came to pass. Whenever he'd mention it, she'd always tell him that he may end up in the top ten of the class as well, and then they could be MPs together. She was either fooling herself or lying to him so he'd feel better. There was no way that he was finishing in the top of the class; he didn't have the grades or the combat scores. The only member of their squad that seemed to have a shot was Christa. The rest of them didn't have a prayer of beating the cadets at the head of the class.

Josh tried to focus on more pleasant thoughts as he lay there in quiet contemplation. Strangely enough, one of his happiest thoughts was stressing him out extremely. Tomorrow was Annie's birthday and he had no clue what he was going to do for her. Being where they were didn't exactly give them a lot of options for that sort of thing. There was no way to put a cake or much of a party together, not that she'd really let him do so anyway. She still cared to keep her "I'm an angsty tough girl who doesn't care about anything" image as a shield. To this day, only a handful of people knew anything about their relationship and that was mostly an accident. The whole incident they'd had in the forest way back when had inadvertently exposed their secret to a few people. It was likely that they had managed to keep quiet about it because Annie threatened to crack skulls if anyone told. He knew she didn't want to look like she was soft or weak in front of people, but her sweet side was something he treasured. When she smiled, when she laughed, when she curled up next to him when no one was looking, and when she got embarrassed and her face got all red; that was the adorable girl he was able to see. Annie was, without want of a better comparison, like a rose buried deep inside of a briar patch. It was tough and sometimes painful trying to find it, but once you did it was worth it. Josh had actually used those exact words in a letter home to his parents about her and in a rather poetic passage he wrote down in his journal.

With all of this in mind, doing something for her tomorrow seemed both easy and difficult at the same time. How was he going to do something special without making a big deal out of it? As a writer, there was appreciation to be had for the simplistic activities and pastimes in life, but that was something that they tended to do a lot of already. He wished that they had leave to go off base and ride into the nearest town; window shopping would probably have given him an idea or two at least. But, as they had been for the last two months, there was no out of area travel allowed without the direct supervision of officers. So how do you go about that with such a limited range of paths to choose from? He really needed some help to figure this one out. Christa would probably be the best one to ask for something like this. She always seemed ready and able to assist when he was in need of advice about Annie, or anything for that matter. She was also the first one to help out when there was a problem, even when she didn't have a solution. Josh had sworn on dozens of occasions that the girl had to be an angel, seeing as she was way too nice to be a regular human being. The two of them had become best friends and practically siblings since all of this started. They were almost inseparable and almost everyone agreed that he'd be completely lost without her around.

He was feeling kind of lost right now, if he was being honest. So he may as well go ask for her input; it was the best place to start that he could think of. He stood up and stretched, stifling a yawn as he walked over to where he'd tied off his horse. He stroked its' forehead and fed it a handful of oats from his saddlebag before mounting up. It had been a pleasant trip outside the camp today. Among the reasons was the fact that riding on horseback was a lot more comfortable when he wasn't wearing his 3D gear. The alone time had been nice too; it gave him time to think about things and write new material when he got the urge.

Back inside the camp, he walked his horse back to its' stable and headed in the direction of the barracks. He was about half way there when Jansen came running over to him.

"Josh, I gotta talk to you man. I need your help with something."

"Yeah sure, what do you need?"

"Well, there's this girl I like and I'm not sure how to approach her without making it awkward."

Josh was kind of confused by his friend's statement. "**You** are having issues talking to a girl? You go around making sexual innuendos and copping a feel whenever the feeling strikes you. You're telling me that you can't even talk to this one?"

"Yeah…that's about the size of it." He rubbed his neck and looked away more than a little embarrassed of himself. "So, can you give me some advice? How did you approach Annie?"

Josh stared Jansen in the face; it was clear he wasn't joking about this. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Jansen Duerk, the guy who has had no qualms about trying to get in the pants of every other girl he meets, is getting cold feet over talking to one."

"Shut up man. I really like this one okay? I know I'm a jackass a lot of the time, but can you help me out I'm terrified of speaking to her."

"Well, you could always try writing her a note or something if you don't feel like you could talk to her face to face. It'll get your thoughts out there and maybe she'll approach you if she knows how you're feeling. I wouldn't suggest doing what I did as it involved getting beat up once or twice. Then again, I would hope you have a little more sense than I did at the time I first went after Annie." Josh laughed.

"I don't think she's the kind of girl who would beat me up, but I'll try writing a note to her. That seems like a halfway decent plan at least."

"Let me know how it goes man; I'd like to hear more about the girl that finally tugged at your heartstrings." With that, Jansen ran off to tend to his own devices and Josh returned to their bunkhouse hoping to find Christa. Hopefully the place was relatively empty so they could talk openly. If it wasn't, they'd have to sneak off somewhere. The last thing he needed was someone like Jean overhearing the discussion.

He pulled the door open and stuck his head in to look around. There didn't seem to be anyone hanging out there to speak of. "Christa, are you in here?"

"You actually just missed her; she left with Ymir about five minutes ago." Connie sat up in his bunk.

"Do you have any idea where they were going? I need to talk to her about something important."

"I think they were heading up to the sparring field. Let me guess, you need help with something Annie related?" After all this time, their circle of friends knew Annie would come up whenever Josh needed to talk to Christa. A lot of the time it was about needing bruises looked at. He was jokingly referred to as the only cadet in the 104th to receive multiple wounds without ever having gone into combat. Someone had actually made him an injured in the line of duty medal out of an old pin, scrap cloth, and the head of a spoon at one point. He still had it, taking it out when he needed a good laugh.

He thanked Connie for the directions and ran out, eager to catch up with Christa before she got too busy with Ymir. He never understood why those two girls were friends; their personalities didn't match at all and Ymir seemed a bit possessive. Nobody had ever outright said it, but everyone suspected that she had the hots for Christa. That was either a testament to how much people liked her or that she was literally able to get along with anybody. Why Ymir though? She was consistently mean to everyone she talked to and more passive aggressive than Jean even on his worst day. Ever since he'd come to this place he'd always found that the people were a bit on the crazy side. Nobody seemed to make any damn sense. Nowadays though, he fit into that category pretty well; he was in love with a girl who beat him up on a regular basis. Even the other cadets, as odd as **they** were, probably thought **he** was out of his freaking mind.

Josh was running as fast as he could manage. He would have to cross the entire compound in order to reach the sparring field. The sooner he reached his destination, the more time he'd have to plan things out later. That and there would be less time for Ymir to do anything untoward, so he hoped. Just the thought spurred him on even faster. He was full on sprinting towards his destination, calves beginning to burn from the intensity of his pace. A small cloud of dust was actually forming behind him as he went. Aside from where he was headed, everything around him seemed as nothing more than a blur. While the singular focus was an amazing display of concentration, it definitely inhibited his peripheral vision extensively. So intense was that focus, he barely broke stride when he ploughed into someone and the world did a somersault. He recovered almost instantly and pressed onwards.

"I'm sorry Sasha I'll give you my bread at dinner, but right now I really need to talk to Christa."

"I appreciate the offer Josh, but I'm definitely not Sasha." Josh skidded to a stop, tripping over his own feet in the process. Clearly he needed to get his eyes checked. What had possessed him to think that he'd run into Sasha? What reason would she have for being up here? He smacked his forehead in annoyance; he'd just bowled over his girlfriend.

"I'm really sorry about that hon. Are you okay?" He trotted over to help her up.

"Eh, I hit you harder than that usually. Anyone else though and you might have wrecked their day at that speed. What has you in this much of a hurry to find our resident saint?"

"Oh…um I just have to talk to her about a couple things."

"I don't know how you plan to do that with Ymir hanging around her. That girl probably won't let you get a word in edgewise. So what kind of predicament do you need help out of this time anyway?"

Josh tried thinking of a way to give an answer that wouldn't make his motives seem obvious. Surprising Annie with something was the whole purpose of his inquiry. Perhaps his secondary concern would suffice as a response? No, that wouldn't work; she'd probably just brush it off as his overactive imagination or some such. She'd barely asked him a direct question yet he felt like he was backed into a corner.

"Jansen…needed me to get her advice on something for him."

"Seriously, he asked you to do that. I wonder why he wouldn't just ask her himself?"

"Well…you see he…um…wow look at the time, I should probably catch up with Christa before she gets caught up in anything." He ran off in the direction of the practice field again, leaving Annie alone and confused.

"He doesn't have a pocket watch…how would he know what time it is? Maybe he's having one of his weird days again?" She shrugged it off and starting heading back to the barracks. "If this has something to do with tomorrow, I hope he doesn't go making a big deal out of things like he usually does." She wasn't a fan of birthdays, or parties, or anything of that nature; it made her feel awkward. Most of the time, she was content to just keep to her own devices and not have to deal with other people. These days however, that was increasingly difficult, especially when Josh was involved.

His thoughts were busy smacking him around at that moment. _"You Idiot, what kind of lame ass excuse was that? She's going to __**know**__ something's up with the way you were acting."_ All the same, he still hoped she hadn't read too deeply into what he'd said. He passed into the stand of trees that were on the side of the field and when he emerged onto the plateau on the other side he was really hoping he wasn't seeing what he thought he saw. Ymir had Christa pinned on her back and was looming over her intently. Innuendos were floating around in his head and he moved in towards them. This looked really, really awkward from where he was standing. "Hey, what are you doing to her?" The two girls looked up at him.

Ymir's expression was like she was pouting. "Get lost Kassmeyer; we're in the middle of something right now." Josh was about to retort when Christa freed her leg and flipped Ymir over her head and into the dirt on her stomach. Her hands were pinned behind her back and Christa looked up at him with a wry smile.

"Thanks for giving me an opening there Kassy, she almost had me."

"Uh…yeah…it was no problem."

Ymir, despite being pinned herself, was looking kind of happy at the moment. "That's my Christa, always using my weaknesses to get the upper hand. You are way too cute you know that?"

"Aw, thank you Ymir that's very sweet of you."

"Sorry to break up your practice da…session, but I could really use your help with something."

She sat up. "What might that be Kassy?"

"Can we go somewhere where we can talk…alone? It has to do with you know who."

"Ohhhh, yeah that's no problem at all. We can go on a quick walk I've got time." She stood up and faced him. Ymir made to do the same.

"When I say alone, that means privately, just her and I."

"Don't worry Ymir I'll be back before long." She smiled and started walking with Josh. He could feel Ymir's eyes boring into the back of his head. It was kind of creeping him out. She almost seemed Jealous of how much time Josh spent with Christa. He wasn't sure what there was to be jealous of either; she was basically his little sister and they both looked out for each other. They'd actually both agreed early on that being friends was as far they'd ever go. He actually felt bad for anyone who had a crush on her. She could only pick one person eventually and there were probably at least a hundred to choose from. He privately wondered if Ymir was the only girl among that group.

"So what's on your mind today?" Christa said once they'd reached a shaded spot off to the side.

"Well, Annie's birthday is tomorrow and I have no idea what I'm going to get her or do for her. You've given me advice on just about everything in the last couple years so; you got anything for me now?"

"Most people would've started charging you for all this counseling by now." She laughed. "In regards to her birthday though, you don't have to make it complicated. She's probably told you at least twice not to make a big deal out of it knowing her. There isn't really much room to do that in any case, considering the logistics available to us." She thought deeply for a moment, mulling over a few different plans in her head. One came clearly to the forefront after a moment or two. "I think I've got something, but we're going to need some help to make it happen."

"What did you have in mind; and help from who exactly?"

"We're at least going to need Sasha, Aline, and Jansen."

"Okay…I think I know where you're going with Sasha, but why are we going to need Aline and Jansen?"

"I'm going to need her help setting things up for what I've got planned, and Jansen will serve as a great distraction, provided we give him a little bit of incentive to do it."

"Do what exactly?" Josh was kind of worried about where this was going to lead.

"Don't worry about it; I have everything under control Kassy. Stop looking so worried, have I ever given you a reason to be concerned when you ask me for help?"

"No, no you haven't." he sighed deeply. "Alright then, just let me know what I need to do to make this happen."

"Just meet me in the mess hall tonight at dinner and we'll go over the plan in more detail."

"Okay…I guess I'll leave you to it then?"

"Excellent, see you tonight then." She smiled mischievously and ran off to rejoin Ymir. Josh wasn't sure he felt comforted by that look, but she'd never given him reason to doubt her. In fact, she always seemed to go above and beyond every expectation he had. He often found himself repeating how unbelievably amazing of a person Christa was in his writings. He did however have a feeling that there was a lot more to her than people realized. Despite her soft and outgoing nature, she was a skilled combatant, scoring top marks during almost every field exercise.

He started heading back through the grove towards the camp, his thoughts occupied by imaginings of the scheming about to unfold in the coming hours. He wondered where Jansen was going to fit into this and how in the hell she planned to convince him to distract Annie; that wasn't an easy task to accomplish. It took a lot of effort to throw her off, and when you managed to do so, things weren't likely to end well for anyone involved.

Josh spent the rest of the afternoon writing and tending to some gear maintenance with Albrecht. It was a good way to keep himself busy; anticipation of the meeting Christa had called was really gnawing at him. He was feeling really anxious about it all because of how vague she had been about everything. So, when the evening bell finally rang and the corps assembled in the mess hall, he could practically feel the weight lifting off of his shoulders. He filled his tray with the usual fare of bread, potatoes, and some bean soup before searching the room for the cohort that was supposed to be gathering. He found them clustered together at a table in one of the far corners. Had he not been aware of what was going on, it would have looked like they were up to something. What a stupid observation, of course they were up to something that was the whole point. He walked up to the table and slid in next to Jansen.

"Well if it isn't the man of the hour?" Jansen clapped him on the shoulder.

"I suppose now that our esteemed benefactor is here, we can get down to business." Christa clasped her hands together. "Listen closely boys and girls; this mission is of the utmost importance and we can't accomplish it without each and every person playing their part exactly."

"Just tell us what we need to do and we'll get it done. Josh would probably have worked himself into a panic if he hadn't found somebody to help with this little problem."

"I would've figured something out Aline…after I freaked out. Panic can sometimes yield very fruitful results."

"Yeah, but I hate seeing you lose your mind like that Kassy. Last time it happened, you were out of it for almost a week."

"I'm still not sure how Shadis didn't kill me over tha…Wait, that's completely irrelevant. Can we talk about the fragility of my sanity later; what's this big plan of yours?"

"Right, as I was saying, this will require everyone to play their part exactly as planned. There are three parts to how this is going to go: First, I'm going to need Sasha to steal us some food from the pantry an…"

"Since when are you okay with stealing anything?" Josh cut her off in his surprise.

"Not to sound agitated, but we are doing this for you so just hear me out okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I realize how much trouble you're all probably going to go through for me here." He resolved to keep his mouth shut until they'd fleshed out the details.

Christa smiled and resumed outlining her scheme. "Anyway Sasha, We're going to want to have some food prepared for tomorrow. You're the only person I can think of who has the skill and animal cunning to steal from the pantry without getting caught. Plus, if anyone can make something amazing out of what ingredients we have on hand you can."

"I'll make the best damn meal they've ever tasted. They better save me some though; I need to eat too."

"Well I guess it wasn't too hard to convince her to help out since there's food involved." Aline smirked.

"You probably have the easiest job out of the group Aline. I just need you to help me set things up tomorrow. We'll want to make sure that the meeting spot looks as romantic as it possibly can."

"How in the heck are we supposed to do something like that, it's not like we have decorating supplies. Besides, where are we going to do this anyway?"

"I was thinking that place in the forest that overlooks the lake. It's picturesque and secluded, a perfect place for young lovers to spend quality time together." She looked off dreamily, imagining such a moment. Josh flushed a bright shade of red and the others at the table snickered. He found that he was just as easily embarrassed as Annie sometimes.

"So…where exactly do I fit into all of this?" Jansen asked after he'd stifled his amusement.

"Ah, you have the most important and difficult job. Without you, none of the rest of this will matter. You need to create a distraction to bring Annie to the overlook."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"You need to get her to chase you. She's not likely to just follow you up there without provoking her. We have to keep this a surprise as much as we possibly can. That's also why Kassy can't do it. If he did, she'd no doubt suspect something right off the bat. As for how you're going to provoke her, you have to figure that part out for yourself."

"What the hell?! What makes you think I'm okay with pissing **her** off?! I'll get my ass kicked twenty ways from Sunday! You never said I would have to do that for this to work."

"Jansen, please we need you, Josh needs you. If not as a favor to him, do it as a favor for me; I would be ever so grateful if you helped. I know it may be a lot to ask considering your target, but it would mean the world to me, to Josh if you did this." Christa put on her cutest face and said it in the sweetest voice she could. No man, let alone Jansen, stood a chance against that. His resolve was destroyed almost instantly; he melted like butter.

His stoic and proud demeanor surfaced and he clasped his hand over his chest in a salute. "I can't believe that I'm doing this, but alright I'll make sure I get her to the overlook."

Aline looked sidelong at Christa. "Can you teach me how to have that kind of effect on men?"

"That is the last thing we need in this world, you with the ability to manipulate any man to your will."

"I'll save Annie the trouble of beating you right now if you don't shut your mouth."

"I've never seen friends that snipe at each other as much as you two." Sasha shook her head.

"So is that the gist of what you're planning, a romantic night time picnic by the lake?" Josh interjected hoping to take the focus off of another violent argument between two of his oldest friends.

"Yeah, that's the idea. I figured she'd appreciate a quiet spot at night. There's a much lower chance of anyone seeing what you're doing with her. I bet it'll be nice to not have to worry about getting beaten up for once."

"Yeah…heh…that would be nice. I don't care about that so much though; I just enjoy spending time around her. If I get a little bruise here and there, it doesn't matter in the long run."

"Damn you sound so cheesy right now. I'm not sure whether to call you noble or stupid." Aline snickered and rolled her eyes.

"If I'm honest, a little bit of both sounds about right. Maybe it'd be better to just call me crazy…" He shook his head and smiled thinly. He was surrounded by crazy people in a crazy world. He thought about what the world may have been like way before all of this. Would those people have laughed it off if someone had told them that they would be fighting giants that ate humans like candy? A lot of things probably sound crazy in hindsight. Things like ODM gear, titans, living within giant walls, falling in love with someone like Annie Leonhardt were really insane ideas when you actually thought about them for a moment. It was a crazy life, but it was his life and he wouldn't trade it for anything. "So Christa, where am I going to be during all of this?"

"Act as inconspicuously as you can until tomorrow evening; you'll follow us up to the meeting spot and when your fair maiden shows up, you shall be there waiting to embrace her and kiss passionately." She was zoning out again into daydreaming land.

"And Aline thought that **I** sounded cheesy. If you're so fixated on all of this romantic stuff, maybe you should find someone of your own. There's no shortage of volunteers." He had half expected Ymir to materialize the moment he'd said it. Either her or one of the huge contingents of potential suitors she had. Of course, being the modest person she was, Christa just brushed off his statements as an exaggeration, even though she was the only one who thought that.

The group hammered out a few more details of the operation as they ate. Soon after the discussion wrapped up, the quintet splintered as everyone went to work on their own piece of the puzzle. It was a solid enough strategy all told. None of the aspects would really be much of a tall order. Christa and Aline's part of the plan seemed to be the only one that possessed any logistical difficulty and Josh had been told not to worry about it, or anything else for that matter. The fact that he wasn't doing much felt kind of odd to him; he wanted to help out at least a little. His friends had all been nice enough to do this for him and he barely had to lift a finger. It didn't seem like it was him doing something for Annie if he just stood by and everyone else did the work. Hopefully there was still something for him to do when he got there tomorrow evening.

After spending some time walking around aimlessly, he returned to the bunkhouse and flopped down on his bed. He reached into his knapsack and pulled out his journal, resolving to help ease his anxiety by writing. In times of irregular stress, he sometimes found that his mind was the only place he could retreat to for solitude and clarity.

_"__So time has brought us to that day again. The day of jubilation and celebration that reminds us of our ever progressing age. It is a time to reflect on what our last year of life brought us and what we will do with the next. As it is said, the lessons of the past pave the roads for the future lest we fin…why am I writing some weird existential bit about birthdays? I was hoping to get that out of my head for awhile. It's alright, just clear your mind and have another go." _ He tried and failed several more times to come up with something more, but each time he found the words looping back towards the day to come. The same words and phrases eventually made their way out of the tip of the pencil. He growled in frustration and tossed his journal back into his bag, burying his head in his pillow in case he felt like screaming.

"What's got you agitated now?" the sudden presence of a voice made him jump. Annie was leaning up against the bedpost with that usual bored look she was so fond of. "You're wound a little tight today aren't you?"

"I wish you wouldn't startle me like that. I'll never understand how you're able to get so close without being seen or heard." Josh sighed and sat up.

"It's a gift I suppose. Anyway, what's been going on today; you've been acting odd even for you."

"Oh you know, just have a lot on my mind lately."

"So did Jansen appreciate that advice you went to the trouble of getting for him?"

"Huh? What are you tal…ohhhh, yeah right that. Um…he was very…grateful." He stumbled over his words. That hadn't really been much of a cover story he'd made up earlier and it was more transparent than an invisible sheet of glass.

"Alright, so what are you really up to? You're hiding something, that much is obvious and I will find out what it is."

"There's nothing to find out. You're imagining things."

Next thing he knew, she was in his face, looming over him with a rather frightening look in her eye. "I'm not an idiot Josh Kassmeyer and I can tell even when a skilled dissembler is lying to me. You've never been all that good at lying so please don't insult my intelligence and presume to get something this blatantly obvious past me." Her face was pretty much devoid of emotion which made her ten times more unsettling. He couldn't tell if she was mad or just trying to make him spill his guts. He had to make up something else and fast. The only problem was, he couldn't see a way out of this without at least revealing something to her. He tried to think of it like baiting a fish; give them as little as possible without exposing your intentions.

"Alright, I...need you to meet me at the overlook by the lake tomorrow, about a half hour or so after sundown."

"Why is that?" Her outward appearance didn't reflect her thoughts. _"Does this mean he's got something romantic planned for tomorrow? Why else would he want me to come up there? That place has the most amazing view…and tomorrow is almost a full moon. What does he have planned?"_

"That's all I can say for now. I'm not up to anything crazy or weird I promise." As for everyone else, that would have been a lie.

"I would hope not. Even if you were, I'm sure I could deal with anything that comes up. Since you seem intent on keeping most of this to yourself, I'll humor you a little. Nonetheless, I'll be watching for anything suspicious." She back off a bit and the intensity of her expression softened. Josh cursed inwardly; she'd almost made him cave just by looking at him. Keeping secrets from her was damn near impossible for him. Those beautiful and terrifying eyes always seemed to be his undoing. "So, does this have something to do with why you look so frustrated?"

"In a way I guess you could say that. I'm trying to write and clear my head, but I can't seem to get my thoughts organized."

"Have you tried writing with a specific goal in mind? If you have a solid reason behind what you're writing, maybe it will come easier."

_"__That's it! How come I didn't think of it sooner? I'm writing because I'm trying to keep my focus off of her. Why not write something for her?"_ Josh smiled broadly and pulled his journal out again. "You just gave me a great idea. I think I've figured out what I'm going to write." He started scribbling words onto the page furiously, the creativity juices were churning. He was mumbling excitedly under his breath and his eyes were darting wildly back and forth. There would be no distracting him from it now.

"Well I suppose I'll leave you to it then; see you tomorrow night I guess?" Josh didn't respond. When he was in the middle of his "literary deliberations" as he called it, the world around him may as well not exist. She doubted she could've grabbed his attention even if the building were on fire. She rolled her eyes and, after making sure no one was looking, gave him a kiss on the cheek before walking off to her own bunk. As the night drew onwards, she found herself obsessing over whatever had been setup for tomorrow. She wasn't big on surprises and it bothered her that she hadn't pressed him for a little more info. The anxiety had left Josh alone and come swimming over to envelop her thoughts instead. She did her best to shake it off. It would look like she was paranoid if she didn't trust him after all they'd been through. She regularly caused him physical pain and he probably still trusted her completely. Using all of her willpower, she forced the worries as far back into her mind as possible and eventually fell asleep, she needed the rest if she would be up late tomorrow night.


	2. Chapter 2: An evening by the Fire

When the day returned, things went on as usual. Classes took up a decent portion of the morning and afternoon before things mellowed out. Josh went with Aline, and Christa up to the prearranged location as the day made the transition to early evening. Sasha was already waiting for them there and was organizing everything together to prepare the food. It looked like she'd been there a while.

"I made off with about a week's worth of food for this thing so you guys better appreciate it. I took at least a little bit of every ingredient that was in the pantry. I wanted to be able to have a lot to work with so that there would be enough for everyone." She was getting a fire going and had cookware and a few bags of ingredients strewn about her.

"How did you sneak all of this stuff up here? This seems like an awful lot for one person to carry." Josh was rather impressed with her resourcefulness.

"When food is involved, you'd be surprised what I'm capable of accomplishing. That and I had Connie drag the pots and pans up here last night."

"In the dark and alone most of the way here mind you!" Connie shouted from somewhere in the bushes. "I'm lucky I didn't die or worse, get caught by the commandant. It's near impossible to carry around all that stuff without making any noise."

"Quit whining, this is for a good cause and I told you that you'd get to have some later."

"You still could have helped or at least given me a lantern so I could see!" The two of them started going back and forth over the ordeal.

"So, while those two figure things out, what do you need me to do? I feel bad having you guys do so much of the work here."

"Help us dress the place up a bit Kassy. We've got a few lights, some candles, rope, and a number of other miscellaneous items we managed to scrounge together. Keep in mind that we're all friends and all wanted to say happy birthday to Annie. This is kind of like our gift to her." Christa started gathering some of the items that they'd hidden in the brush.

The group set about their task in earnest, the grove of trees in their immediate vicinity becoming transformed into a cozy dining area. The sun was getting closer to the horizon as they worked, and the lanterns were lit to add to the warm light of the cooking fire. Sasha was turning the hodgepodge of ingredients into a most appetizing looking dish. She was combining the meat, potatoes, and vegetables in a manner that was nothing short of masterful. It was amazing what they'd done on such short notice and whatever they managed to nick from camp. This was likely more than anyone would have thought possible for a handful of cadets. If not for the fact that they'd made off with military property, Shadis would probably have praised the lot of them for their ingenuity and logistical improvisation.

"So Josh, what did you end up getting Annie for a present?" Aline looked at him while laying out some candles on a few of the larger rocks.

"Oh…I wrote something for her. Or rather, something about her and I'm going to read it to her. I hope she likes it; it's kind of sappy."

"I'm sure she will. I can't imagine a girl getting upset with a guy who goes to the trouble of writing poetry or prose for them. That's so romantic of you." Christa smiled while stringing some lamps between the trunks of trees.

"Believe it or not I actually got the idea when she came over and said something to me last night. The whole thing just came to me and I belted it out."

"Did she suspect anything about what was going on tonight?" Connie was pulling out a stack of mess tins.

"Well, sort of, but I was able to keep most of it a secret. All I did was tell her to come up here a bit after sundown. I was a little surprised that she went along with it."

Christa stopped what she was doing suddenly. "Did you tell Jansen?"

"No, I didn't think to, why?"

"Josh, he's supposed to find a way to lure Annie up here; don't you remember? His job was to create a distraction that would ensure she ended up at the overlook. If she's already coming up here then Jansen is…"

"Going to piss her off for no reason…ah damn it." Josh smacked his forehead.

"Well I hope for his sake that he doesn't do anything to crazy. I'd hate to see what happens to him if he did." Aline half-laughed at the idea.

Sundown was just a minute or two away when Annie set out from the bunkhouse. She'd picked out her favorite casual clothes, hoping they were nice enough for whatever Josh had planned for the evening. She was surprised to find that this was one of the times she felt super conscious about how she looked. Her more feminine feelings were showing themselves and it irritated her. It wasn't often that she ended up feeling all girly, but when she did it was like the abrasive side of her didn't exist. Josh was having her come to a secluded and romantic spot to meet up with him. The thought of an actual date on her birthday gave her an extra spring in her step that she tried hard to keep from showing.

"There she is." Jansen poked his head out from behind a nearby building. "I'm probably going to end up half dead for doing this. I better get a freaking medal at the very least once this is over." He trotted over to where she was and called out to her. "Hey Annie, do you have a minute I need to show you something."

"Not now Jansen I've got somewhere to be."

"I found something really cool you should come see it."

"I said not now. I just told you, I've got somewhere I need to be soon."

He sighed and fished an item out of his pocket. _"I really wish it didn't come to this; she's going to kill me if she catches up with me."_ He stifled the negative thoughts. He'd need all his faculties in order when he let the hat drop. "Hey, um I was just wondering…by chance are these things yours?"

Annie turned on her heel. "Jansen, for God's sake I don't have time for your…games." She flushed a bright shade of pink. He was holding up a green piece of clothing. "Is that…my…underwear?" She stammered the words out.

"Yeah…about that…" He paused for a second before taking off running as fast as he could.

Annie was shaken and dazed for a brief instant before she took off after him. "Jansen Duerk you are a dead man your hear me?!" Both of them sprinted off in the direction of the woods, kicking up a substantial trail of dust in their wake. Anyone who was around the oncoming duo dived for cover or scattered in any direction that they could think of to avoid Annie's bloodlust. At this point, whoever was in the way would just get trampled.

"Well, this is going to get ugly the moment she catches me. I have to lead her to everyone so I can hide." He jumped over a large rock in his path as he sped down the worn dirt track.

"Get back here you perverted bastard! If you give them back to me now I promise to kill you quickly!" She was running so fast it was almost like she wasn't even making contact with the ground on each step. Feelings of anger and embarrassment spurred her onwards ever more quickly. The pursuit carried them through dense scrub and thick clusters of trees. There was something odd about the whole thing though, Jansen hadn't yet made a single attempt to hide from her or get her off of his trail. It was like he was just doing this to screw with her; that revelation made her even more indignant. How had he gotten into her trunk in the first place? When had he gotten into it? Perhaps the biggest question of all was, why **her** underwear? He was known for being more than a little bit perverted, but why would he pick the girl his best friend was dating? On top of that, she was the likeliest person to kill someone who made her really mad. He must have gone off the deep end.

He was starting to get a little winded. His chest was beginning to hurt and his breaths were coming out shorter with each passing moment. She had a ton more stamina than he did and he'd need a breather a lot sooner than she would. He just had to keep it up a bit longer until they reached their destination. _"Just a little farther and I'm home free, I can drop these damn things and be done with it. Why did he let himself get talked into being the distraction again?"_ The encroaching darkness was also presenting an issue to his further progress. His reflection was abruptly halted when he tripped over a rock and fell hard to the dirt. He scrambled to his feet barely two seconds before she was on him. Annie roared in frustration and grabbed at his heels, eager to seize her quarry. Jansen sprinted onwards, despite having almost twisting his ankle when he fell. In the distance, he could just make out little pinpricks of light among the branches; he was getting close. Not far behind him, Annie screamed again.

"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Sasha perked up suddenly.

"What did it sound like; I don't think I heard anything." Aline was sitting up on one of the big rocks looking out over the lake.

"No, she's right I heard it too." Connie stared off into the trees.

When the sound came a third time, nobody could deny it. There was something out there in the woods, it was angry and getting closer. Christa peeked out from behind a rock, looking rather unsettled. "That sounds scary, what is it?"

"That's the sound of an animal that's nearly caught its' prey, but has been denied the killing blow at each instance." Growing up in Dauper, a hunting village near the mountains, Sasha had become familiar with animal sounds of all kinds.

Josh thought about that for a moment. Sasha wasn't that far off based on what he figured the sound was. A creeping realization set in on everyone's face as they all came to the same conclusion. "Annie." Everyone said at the same time.

Their suspicions were confirmed when Jansen came crashing through the bushes only a moment later. "I'm never volunteering for anything ever again! Just save me please; I don't feel like dying today." He crouched behind everyone as Annie burst into the clearing. Josh had to stop her from trying to tear him in half.

"Dear God man, what'd you do?"

"The rotten little shit stole a pair of my panties!"

All eyes turned to him. "You stole underwear from **Annie Leonhardt**? Jans, I'm not sure whether to be disgusted with you or marvel at the size of your balls." Aline was in disbelief.

"She can have them back! I don't freaking want them! Next time you guys need someone to be bait, kindly leave me out of it." He tossed the garment back and cowered behind Aline's rock.

"Bait, what the hell is he talking about? Bait for what?" Annie was looking around angrily for an answer. The more she saw however, the less she struggled. She became rather confused by what was around her. "Um…what's going on? What's with the lights and the fire and…whatever that is cooking smells really good. Would anyone care to explain?" Everyone looked at Josh expectantly.

"Well…um…happy birthday sweetheart?" he half asked.

It took a moment before what she heard registered in her mind. "You…you're serious? You guys put all this up…for me?" She suddenly looked embarrassed. "What have I said about making a big deal out of stuff on my account? Josh, I bet this was your doing wasn't it?"

"Actually, it was Christa's. I asked her what we should do for your birthday and this is what she proposed. Before you'd said anything to me last night, Jansen was supposed to find a way to lure you up here so we could surprise you. I kind of forgot to tell him that he wouldn't need to do that anymore…"

"You're a jackass you know that? She could've killed me!"

"Nobody told you to steal her underwear you idiot." Aline slapped him upside the head.

"Well I figured it was a surefire way to get her attention." He shot back at her.

"Kassy wanted to do something special for you, so we all pitched in to do this." Christa tried to bring the conversation back to the main point. "You've never really celebrated your birthday since you've been here and this may be our last chance. Since we'll be graduating in a few months, who knows if we'll be able to get together like this again."

"You still didn't have to do something like this; it seems like way too much." She brushed her hair out of her face and walked around, taking in the makeshift decorations.

"That's all the more reason to enjoy it, since we worked so hard on all of this stuff. I even made special dinner for all of us." Sasha smiled.

"I'm touched guys, I really am. I can't believe you put this together for me. Christa, this is sweet even for you. I don't know what to say." She was halfway between smiling and crying it looked like. She gave Christa a big hug.

"Josh is right, you do look a lot cuter when you're being all sweet Annie." Aline laughed.

"Don't make me hit you, it would spoil the moment."

"So, are we going to eat or what? The smell of the food is driving me nuts." Sasha had already focused on eating again. Her comment elicited a laugh from everyone, even Annie. The seven of them grabbed tins from a stack and dished out a helping from the pot and some bread from a small bag. They all sat haphazardly in a circle around the fire. They clustered as near each other as they could manage and unsurprisingly Sasha was already half way done with her first helping before anyone had said a word.

Aline was the next person to take a bite. "Oh my lord, this tastes amazing!"

"Wow, yeah it does. What all is in this?" Josh asked as he spooned another bite into his mouth.

"A little bit of everything like I said before. Meat, potatoes, onions, beans, celery, the list goes on and on. I figured, if I was going to the trouble of taking all of this stuff from the pantry in the first place, I might as well make the most amazing stew I could. Just don't tell anyone about this or I'm screwed out of meals for the next month." She was getting up to get more.

"You stole all of this stuff?" Annie asked.

"Well yeah, how else do you think we managed to do all this? They don't exactly allow us to bring this much stuff from home." Connie spoke through a piece of meat he was chewing up.

"It is really good food though; this was an incredible job Sasha. I promise I won't tell a soul."

"I'm just sorry we couldn't make a cake or something for you." She reached into a sack behind her. "However, I did manage to swipe this sweet roll when I was leaving through the kitchen. I wrapped it up so it wouldn't dry out." She handed it to Annie.

"Seriously, you didn't need to do all of this, if any of you get caught, Shadis will give you all kinds of hell."

Babe, stop protesting and just enjoy it. You scolding us isn't going to change our minds or anything." Josh laughed and gave her a hug. The seven of them sat around chatting and laughing for the better part of a half hour. It was nice to be able to have this kind of time where they could forget about their problems and enjoy being in the company of friends. Annie finally gave up on arguing and she looked as happy as he had ever seen her. He doubted she'd ever been this expressive around a group of people since they'd all begun this crazy journey. This side of her was the one that took a lot of time and effort to bring out. When she did let anyone see it, it was usually only for a brief instant. Tonight, that wasn't the case at all. Looking around, he thought about what a perfect moment this was. Moments like this were some of his favorites. They seemed like they could last forever. Paint him a picture of happiness and it would be an instant such as this. He reached into his pocket and looked over at that smiling blue eyed girl, the girl he loved. "I have a present for you. Well, it's something I wrote for you actually."

"Oh boy, here comes the mushy crap." Jansen chuckled.

"Is this what you were working on last night?"

"Yeah, I spent a good amount of time making sure this was done right. There was a lot I wanted to say. Jans is right though, it definitely gets mushy and sappy at a few points, but I feel like it does the job as best as it can be done. I'd like to read it to you, if that's alright."

"I read a little bit of it earlier. I bet you all thirty thaler that she asks him to stop because she's getting too embarrassed." Aline offered up. She was annoyed that no one took her up on the bet.

"Go ahead and read it; it looks like I'm not the only one waiting to hear what you've put to the paper this time around." She turned to face him and sat cross-legged.

Josh cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "The very first moment that your eyes met mine, I felt an electric shock hit me straight in the chest. Love at first sight had always seemed a thing invented in worlds of fiction until I saw you. At the time, you would have called me crazy if I told you this, you still might. I see you in my dreams at night; you make me feel like I'm dreaming when I'm awake. When I see you, no matter how my day's been going, it instantly becomes a great day. When we're together, time stands still and I feel like I am living in an eternity. You are beautiful in every way I can imagine. You are sweet when you want to be, and sharp when you have to be. I love the way that you laugh, your smile is so bright that it could pierce the deepest abyss.

I'll always remember that first moment when you lost your composure and went all cute on me. When I told you that you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, you completely stumbled. Your voice had no edge to it and you were blushing like a school girl talking to her crush. You got cold and snuggled up to me to stay warm and you fell asleep in my arms. I wanted that moment to go on all night; I would've stayed out there until the sun kissed your face again. I grew to love you more than I ever thought I could love someone and I've been wrapped around your finger since day one.

You're a girl that doesn't let anyone bring her down. That is something I've always admired about you. If the whole world was against you, you would stand in defiance of it and I would stand with you. You are the strength in my heart and the coal that stokes my fire. I feel as though I can do anything when you're by my side. I would follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked me to and I would bravest the highest mountain, the most brutal storm, the coldest winter, or death itself to hold you in my arms. Even if I were the poorest of men, you'd still make me feel like a king. It has been almost three years since I met you and my life has never been the same since. I want you to remember, that even if we're a nation away from one another, I will be right beside you, because you are my everything. I love you Annie, and here's hoping that the next three years is even better then the last. Happy birthday." He took his eyes from the paper and looked over at her.

She was hunched over with her face buried in her hands. When she looked up, she was more red than an uncooked steak. Aline, Connie, Sasha, and Jansen burst out laughing and just about fell over sideways. "Shut up, stop laughing; this isn't funny you guys." Her voice squeaked when she said it and that only made her embarrassment worse. "Damn it Kassy, do you see what you've done?"

"I think that was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. I think more guys should do that." Christa was practically gushing.

"I'm not saying I didn't like it, but did he really need to talk about that part from the night when I told him my name? I'm surprised I didn't die of embarrassment then, let alone now." Most of the group was still trying to get their laughter under control for more than a few seconds. Every time they looked at Annie, she blushed again and they went back to cackling like old maids. "The next person who laughs at me is getting punched I swear to God!"

"Alright guys, calm down. She doesn't need to feel any more awkward than she already does; that would just be cruel." Josh tried to hush them.

"You're one to talk about being cruel aren't you?" She stood up and faced him. "You ask me to come out here to this romantic spot and you throw this weird surprise party thing for me. Your friend runs off with my underwear and almost makes me ruin my favorite set of clothes chasing him. You guys made a special dinner for me and went to the trouble of stealing who knows how much stuff to set up this little gathering. Then you read me this super sappy birthday love letter and make me feel the girliest that I've felt in my enter life. Then these guys laugh at me like they've never seen a girl blush. All of this happens and you haven't even had the decency to give me a single kiss. Joshua Kassmeyer you disappoint me sometimes." She lifted him by his collar and pressed her lips against his. His eyes bulged out a little bit and **his** face flushed a vibrant shade of crimson. It was a forceful and passionate kiss and she was amazing at it. She always managed to kiss him when he couldn't see it coming. He was sensing a bit of a pattern with her. Whenever she started ranting at him over something, she tended to follow it with a kiss; it was almost a dead certainty.

"Damn, I wish a girl would kiss me like that." Jansen and Connie said simultaneously.

Josh saw an interesting opportunity to try something. A little move to add to the spectacle as it were. He swept Annie's feet out from under her and swung her up into his arms. He wasted no time in resuming the kiss. Now the two of them were more or less fighting internally over who was the better kisser between them. It didn't take long before they ended up on the ground, things progressively getting more intense.

"Okay, you two, enough is enough get a freaking room if you're going to insist on continuing." Aline spoke up.

"You can always leave, we don't mind." Annie didn't even break lips as she said it.

"Can someone please help me out here?" No one seemed inclined to do so. Christa was too wrapped up in how romantic it all seemed and the rest of them looked like they were having too much fun watching to actually say anything. Connie offhandedly suggested that they make an instructional leaflet on how to kiss properly. Sasha had eaten three more plates of food while Josh and Annie danced on the edge of taking PDA to a whole other level.

After another hour or two spent laughing and watching the birthday girl make out, the group doused their fire and packed up what they could feasibly carry back with them that night. They all walked together, still savoring the pleasure of each other's company and cracking the occasional joke. It had been an interesting night to say the least. Jansen was grateful that Annie had forgotten about wanting to beat him up for the whole underwear thing. He hoped that it remained that way. On their way back, Connie also made some quip about how much easier it was to see when you had a lantern with you. Sasha had retorted with "You got dinner and a show out of tonight so I don't think you have any reason to be complaining." It seemed like they hadn't gone more than a couple of minutes without someone laughing since the reading of Josh's letter. It was probably something they were going to be feeling when tomorrow rolled around.

Once back at the main base, they crept into the bunkhouse as quietly as possible before splitting up to go to their separate beds. They'd managed to narrowly avoid the watchman that patrolled the grounds making sure no one was out past curfew. Once they'd all lain down, most of them were out like a dead candle within moments. However, as Christa climbed up into her bed, she noticed a small folded piece of paper on her pillow. She opened the folds up and saw writing on the page. She held one of the night lanterns close to it so that she could make out the words. _"It has taken me a considerable amount of effort to work up the courage to write this to you. I don't feel this awkward around most girls so I'm writing this to try and express my feelings a little bit. I've had a crush on you for quite some time now. I see you every day and you have this spring in your step and this lovely smile. You possess a kind and compassionate heart; It's not hard to see why so many guys have fallen for you. You're probably all that I could want in a woman, but you're also everything I don't deserve. I know it seems odd to receive this kind of note so suddenly out of nowhere, but I had to get these thoughts off of my chest. Maybe someday, if I do work hard enough however, I will be worthy to at least take you on a date sometime. Until that day comes, I shall remain most affectionately yours."_

It had been a short and sweet piece, very touching, but who had written it? She looked over the letter carefully several more times, checking to see if there was a name anywhere on it that she may have missed. There was nothing, not even a single letter initial or a sign mark. The hand writing wasn't even distinct enough to decipher its' origin. She puzzled over it, wondering why they would have neglected such an important aspect of a love not.

Across the room, huddled under his blanket, Jansen Duerk found sleep to be an elusive beast this night.


End file.
